Platina's on Right Pleasure and Good Health: A Critical Abridgement and Translation of De Honesta Voluptate Et Valetudine

Bartolomeo Sacchi, called Platina - soldier, schoolmaster, student, papal administrator, prisoner, author, librarian, propagandist, proto-typical Italian humanist - composed On Right Good Pleasure and Good Health between 1463 and 1465, apparently for his enjoyment and that of his friends. Drawing upon sources from Pliny to the Arab physician Ibn Butlan to the celebrated chef Martino d'Rossi, Platina in ten books explores all aspects of food and health: philosophic, dietetic, aesthetic, dramatic. The first humanist to give thoughtful consideration to the full presence of food and drink in his and other cultures, Platina discusses, among other topics, proper table setting, the salubrious advantages of fresh air, appropriate rest and motion, sexual pleasure, and sleep. His extensive collection of recipes allow for an understanding of the concern for health and physical satisfaction of the fifteenth-century Italian landed class. The full Latin text was prepared by M.E. Milham for Medieval and Renaissance Texts and Studies.